President Donald Trump's apprehensions over the use of mail-in ballots in the upcoming presidential elections have triggered concerns about a possibly disputed outcome. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden even suggested that the military would remove Trump from the White House if the Trump loses the election and refuses to move on.
However, the U.S. military will not interfere in the elections if a dispute arises over the results, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Congress in comments released on Friday. He also said that the military will continue to maintain its nonpartisan status and will not "turn our backs" on the US Constitution.
"I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military," Milley said in a letter to Representatives Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) and Mikie Sherrill (D-New Jersey). "In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law, U.S. courts and the U.S. Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the U.S. Military.... We will not turn our backs on the Constitution of the United States."
Trump Weighs in Over Possible 2020 Election Results
Trump has repeatedly made an unfounded claim that the mail-in ballots will be "rigged" and "fraudulent." In an interview with Fox News in June, the president weighed in whether he would concede if he lost the election. When asked if he would accept the results, the president said he will "have to see."
"I have to see, look, I have to see, I'm not just going I'm not just going to say yes, I'm not going to say no, and I didn't last time either," Trump told Fox News.
The same month, Biden told the Daily Show's Trevor Noah his main concern surrounding the election was that the president would "try to steal this election." But, the 77-year-old Democrat also expressed confidence that the military would intervene if Trump refused to leave the White House.
"I am absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch," Biden said.
'U.S. Military Must Remove Him By Force'
Earlier this month, two retired Army lieutenant-colonels John Nagl and Paul Yingling wrote an open letter to Milley seeking the military's help to remove Trump if he did not leave the office at the end of his term.
"We do not live in ordinary times. The president of the United States is actively subverting our electoral system, threatening to remain in office in defiance of our Constitution. In a few months' time, you may have to choose between defying a lawless president or betraying your Constitutional oath," the letter said. "If Donald Trump refuses to leave the office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order."
